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3 ways organisations can support carers in the workplace

Every workplace environment comes with its own unique challenges and stresses. Caring for a parent, partner, child or relative on top of being able to perform at work, is a reality for many. There are 6.5 million carers in the UK today who are helping to support a relative who is older, disabled or seriously ill. That means 12.5% of adults in the UK today are acting as unpaid carers for family or friends.

“When HR policies are being evaluated, accommodations for carers may not be as high on our priority list as those relating to childcare or travel considerations,” says Resource Solutions’ Head of People, Indy Lachhar. “Organisations have an opportunity to attract and retain talent by offering carers the support they need to balance their caring commitments with their careers.”

With over 6,000 people becoming an unpaid carer every day, those with caring responsibilities may face pressure to put their careers on hold. Carers’ Week, running from 12—18th June, is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlighting the challenges carers face and recognising the contributions they make to families and communities throughout the UK.

In honour of Carers’ Week, here are three ways organisations can support carers in the workplace.

Provide flexible working options

Does your organisation offer colleagues the opportunity to work flexibly? Providing staff with the opportunity to structure their working day in a way that allows them to fulfill their caring responsibilities outside of work can have a massive impact. Offering your employees the ability to work from home, job share arrangements or flexible working patterns can empower your staff to work whilst caring for loved ones.

Create a network of support

Be it in the form of a panel discussion, internal communications or training, take the opportunity to engage with your staff to discuss the support your organisation has in place for working carers. Signpost the contact details for employee assistance services so that working carers within your organisation have someone to turn to for confidential support and guidance. If you have any internal employee network groups relating to disability and mental health these can also be of support to your colleagues who are either giving or receiving care.

Support young carers

The Carers Trust reports that there are 700,000 young carers in the UK. That’s around one in 12 secondary school-aged pupils. Organisations with work experience programmes can run targeted initiatives with schools that speak to young carers by delivering sessions around CV and employability skills - helping young carers realise their potential whilst fulfilling their care responsibilities.

At Resource Solutions, we are proud to support equal opportunities for all candidates. Our working relationships with numerous diversity organisations help to ensure that we remove any potential barriers that could exclude candidates based on gender, gender identity, age, race, sexual orientation or disabilities. These organisations include the ENEI and OUTstanding. Find out more about Diversity at Resource Solutions.

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